Strategies for Managing Athletes’ Jet Lag

Jetting across several time zones can attenuate the performance of athletes as well as markedly reduce comfort. Circadian disorganization occurs because, while some adaptation is controlled by external factors such as light and social activity, other adaptations must wait for internal clocks to slowly synchronize. To advise athletes how best to adapt to jeg lag, the sport psychologist must consider many variables such as distance traveled and direction of flight, and choose among options such as education of the athlete and strategies for improving reentrainment.